Traded
by Narnian at Heart
Summary: Our favorite dark haired King finds himself as the owner of a headstrong Calormen slave girl. But he may find he has have bitten off more than he can chew when her true colors begin to show. Edmund/OC. Rated M just in case.
1. Driven Like Cattle

**So this is my new story which I have no idea how is going to turn out…so bear with me! **

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Tashbaan was not where I wanted to be, but I would have to say it was probably better than where we would all be going tomorrow. I looked around me and saw four pairs of eyes filled with the same fear I was feeling inside, but I also saw despair and I wasn't to that point yet. I wondered vaguely how long it would be until I got there…

"On your feet!" the familiar and harsh voice sliced through the silence like a blade through skin and I found myself on my feet without a second thought. Better to play along and not put up a fight, which is why I had lasted so long I suppose.

Unlike the four girls chained behind me, I remembered vividly every moment that had brought me here. I remembered my father sneering at me as the slave trader placed the meager amount of money into his hand. I remembered the whippings I had gotten the first and every time I snapped at anyone in authority over me. I remembered my little sister being sold to a Tarkaan right before my eyes and not being able to do a thing about it. I remember the blisters that had slowly turned to calluses over time and the pain they cause as we were mercilessly driven forward. I remember the first time I had felt the sensation of actually starving. I remember being raped multiple times when the slave drivers would drink too much. Yes…I remembered it all and THAT was what drove me forward. Because I would find my little sister and I would get revenge.

"Move out!" the slaver in the back called to the one holding the leather strap that was tied to the metal collar around my neck. I felt the familiar painful tug and I started walking immediately, the girl behind me connected to me with collars of her own and the one behind her was bound in the same way. We formed a chain of hopeless souls.

We looked up at the gates of Tashbaan as we passed beneath them and I couldn't help but feel a little bit of admiration for the people who made them. But mostly, I felt hatred for these people and everything about them. I hated Calormen and all of its people. I hated men most of all.

Yes, that was one thing that was gone forever. Any ounce of respect I had for the male species was gone. After all, it was my father who sold me, my brothers who stood by and watched, a man who separated my sister and I despite our pleading, men who had taken my innocence, men who had beaten me, and men who were now driving me to the slave market in Tashbaan where I would be sold like a common sheep instead of a human being. Because, I reasoned, that's all we are to men.

My bitterness, however, was not shared by the youngest girl in our sad little troupe. Jinni was the only other person in this helpless group that spoke besides me, the others were too lost deep inside themselves to even try to say anything to a headstrong girl who seemed to get them in trouble more than needed. But Jini told me once that she found hope in me and we have bonded quite well. She often told me that a kind man would buy us and treat us well. I didn't ever tell her the notion was ridiculous.

We were paraded through Tashbaan and I kept my eyes down as we passed by crowds of people who jeered at us and sometimes even threw rotten fruit at us. It was like this in almost every town we had passed through. Finally, we reached the market square were a kind of platform was standing for the very purpose of showing off the wares of the slave trade. We were all tied behind the platform as our drivers called the crowd to gather around and see what they had to offer. But, it seemed that not too many people were interested at the moment because none of them were coming our way, they were all lining the side of street. My head jerked up at the sound of a trumpet blast, one I was unfamiliar with. It was unlike any trumpet call the Tisroc's armies made. I craned my neck over the platform to try and see the strangers whose trumpet call had caught my interest. Jinni tried as well but she was too short.

"Tell me what you see, Najida!" she pleaded softly.

"Well it's hard to see with that crowd gathered around," I started but then the crowd parted to both sides and I saw a most unusual sight! "Oh! There's a Centaur!"

"A Centaur!" Jinni's eyes were wide, "I thought they were only found in the far north countries."

"That must be where they're from," I replied, "Yes, it's a Centaur bearing a green flag with a red lion on it. He's the head of the group and behind him are two figures on horses, a boy and a girl. They appear to be of great importance. The boy has dark hair and looks about my age or a little older, the girl has a reddish-brown colored hair and she looks about a year older than you. They both have that same lion emblazoned on their saddle blankets and they both have crowns. I think they're royalty!"

But the procession passed fairly quickly and the crowd followed them up the street, leaving us alone in the market square minus the shopkeepers. Our drivers mumbled about arriving at the wrong time and bad sales time and drug us back down the street a ways to a large stone building. I knew what came next. We would be locked in a cell for the night until he drug us out for selling the next day when the crowd was satisfied it had seen enough of the foreigners.

I was right. We were all flung into a rat infested, dung scented hole of a cell and left there without a word or a scrap of food. A little water was shoved under the bars in a bowl. After we had drunk just enough to wet our tongues, Jinni and I sat back against the wall to talk as we always did.

"Who were they, Najida?" Jinni asked me, her brown eyes wide with excitement. She was always curious about countries she had never seen which was…all of them.

"Well, I guess they had to have been Archenlanders or Narnians," I replied.

"Narnians!" Jinni squeaked and her hands flew to her mouth. "Do you really think so?"

"Yes, I think the Narnians have a lion as their pagan god, " I reasoned, "So I would say it was indeed their king and queen."

"I would love to meet them," Jinni said wistfully, "Especially the king."

"Ugh, please, Jinni," I scoffed, "I wouldn't want to be within twenty feet of him."

"Why not?" Jinni looked shocked.

"Jinni," I sighed, "You know why. You can't trust them. ANY of them. We couldn't even trust our own fathers!"

Jinni's eyes were brimming with tears.

"But…but I don't believe that!" her voice was high with denial. "They can't all be that way! There has to be some decent ones…"

"NO! THERE ISN'T!" I snapped, cutting her off abruptly, "Stop imagining the impossible! They're ALL the SAME! Haven't you seen enough to know that by now!"

I don't know why I snapped like that. I usually kept myself together and just told myself it was all false. But I guess I was tired of Jinni living in a fantasy world where chivalry and love were real. Because they weren't. I sighed and rolled onto my side to sleep, Jinni's small sobs hurt me more than the stones that were poking my skin.

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**There's the first chapter! Let me know what you think!**


	2. Sold!

**I have two more stories in mind and I promise that one of them will be a Caspian fic because I want to spread my wings a little :D Peter fic in the future? I think so.**

**Anyway, here's chapter 2 of THIS story…honestly I can't do one thing at a time!**

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EDMUND'S POV

Tashbaan was the LAST place I wanted to be right now. I never liked coming here but Peter was always "magically" busy whenever a need to pay a visit to the Tisroc arose so I had to go, of course, to protect Lucy or Susan and whatnot. But I hated this city with a passion. It was filled with suffering people, the streets were littered with waste and trash on the lower levels while the palace was the grandest place on this earth, and the worst thing about the entire place was the rampant slave trading that went on right in the middle of the market square. Slave trading made me sick to my stomach. People were herded like sheep or cattle and were treated like possessions instead of individuals with lives and futures. But I had no authority here so every time I came here I had to ride past that platform and watch people get sold before my very eyes. However, I was glad to see today there was no one in the square and definitely no one on the platform in the center. Perhaps the trade was dying down? No, that was wishful thinking because Tashbaan thrived on slave sales.

We rode through the city slowly due to the huge crowd of people around us. Some were begging for money, some were looking at us with unfriendly eyes, but many were simply curious as to who we were and why we were here. I really didn't mind these PEOPLE, per say, but it was their leader and their detestable deity that set me on edge. Everywhere I looked the Calormen god, Tash, was engraved, drawn, carved, burnt, or painted onto every surface. He was a horrible thing and I was constantly amazed at why anyone would choose to worship something so awful. Lucy shared this feeling and I watched as she shook her head sadly as we passed by a large marble statue of Tash in all of his terrifying personage.

She and I were both relieved when we entered through the gates of the palace high above the rest of the city. It was a grand sight, don't get me wrong, with the many sparkling fountains, the beautiful gardens, the intricately carved statues, and the many wild creatures that roamed about just because the Tisroc thought them an essential part of any garden. I ducked as a flamingo flew over our small Narnian entourage and shook my head. Such needless extravagance when your people just below you are starving to death was beyond my comprehension.

Lucy dismounted quickly, but I stayed astride for a moment longer to scan the area, after all one can't be too careful in this place. But I found nothing to be a threat so I dismounted as well and handed the reins of both horses to a servant boy who had come running up with a bow. I gave him a kind word and a smile and he scampered off with wide eyes of disbelief. Goes to show how much respect these people get. I followed Lucy as she walked toward the doors of the palace which had been opened to allow us entrance, the guards on either side holding long and sharp pikes. I didn't want to go in, but we really had no choice, did we?

Once inside we were led quite kindly to a room with a large table where the Tisroc was waiting for us. The moment we had sat down the servants came gliding in with enough food to feed a small army, which…was sort of the case when you counted our guards and the Tisrocs guards. The servant girls here were always very scantily clad which was another reason I hated this place…it made me feel like a pervert because my eyes were naturally drawn to them. I never left Tashbaan without a nice sized bruise on my ribs from Susan or Lucy's elbows, but neither did Peter for that matter.

We ate and each of us asked about the weather and economy in turn. This was how it always was here in Tashbaan, very pompous and traditional to a fault. I knew we wouldn't be discussing anything tonight because we had to go through Calormen hospitality rituals first. Normally, this would be a delightful cultural plus, but not in this city and not with this man. This Tisroc was dangerous and I could feel it in my very bones, he HATED Narnia and tolerated us only because we had a peace agreement installed at this time.

The ritualistic talk and enquiries were dissolved when my sister let out with a huge yawn and the Tisroc called in servants to show us our rooms. I was more than glad to plop down on that huge bed full of down pillows and I was asleep moments after I hit them.

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The next morning was the part of this whole trip I dreaded the most. The Tisroc always demanded we be taken on a tour of the city, which I never understood because we had been here many times before.

So I found myself back in the saddle being led by a Tarkaan by the name of Jaaved down the streets of Tashbaan. I tried to keep up royal appearance and not slump in my saddle but I was SO bored by his incessant talk of how great and honorable the Tisroc (may he live forever!) is and how strong Tash is and how wonderful the law is…all very nauseating. Plus, everyone knows the Tisroc is going to die now matter how often they wished he wouldn't.

And then I looked up and saw where we were; the marketplace. And, to my horror, there was a slave sale going on. The Tarkaan halted our progress and bid us watch the event unfold, claiming to us we were witnessing the event which brought Tashbaan the majority of its wealth. I felt the bile rise in my throat as it always did at these sales and I tried to pry away my eyes as girls and young boys were paraded by and sold one by one. We were just about to turn and proceed with the tour when I heard a loud scream and the sound of crying. I looked up quickly and witness two girls being led onto the platform…well, at least the smaller one was being pulled up and the older girl was clinging to her for dear life as they tried to pry her off. They managed to get them apart and the bidding started on the younger girl who had tears streaming down her young face. All I could see standing there was my own sister and I felt boiling rage rising in me. How could they do this to people? But at that moment the older girl tore loose of her holder and ran onto the platform, claiming they were to be sold together. The slavers who were apparently the current owners of these girls were fuming and I saw one of them pull a whip from his saddle bag. I panicked and spurred my horse forward in urgency, reaching the platform just as I heard a whip crack and the older girl fell to her knees with a yelp.

"Excuse me, sir!" I spoke with all the manners I could manage in my angered state, "You shall lower the price on these two due to that injury I assume?"

The slaver looked at me in confusion for a moment and then, as he took in the fact that I was obviously rich, his eyes gleamed and he smiled a nasty smile.

"Just 'ow much are you willin' to pay, sir?" his thick accent was not one I was familiar with in Narnia, but seemed to be familiar somehow, possibly from somewhere in my old world.

"I'll pay what I think they're worth," I replied firmly. I dismounted onto the platform and lifted the girl to her feet and motioned for her to stand next to the younger one. She complied only after shooting me a look that could wither a vine. I did a "examination" of them, which just meant I poked and prodded and pretended to be looking for flaws. I gave the slaver an offer that was probably more generous than I should have and he greedily accepted the money I handed him.

The slaver undid the metal collars from the girls and I watched in horror as he looped the leather leads through rings in each girl's nose that I had failed to notice before. He handed me the leads and it was all I could do not to let them go and yell "You're free!" but I kept my composure and my false air of pomp and led the girl back to where Lucy and Jaaved were waiting. Jaaved looked disgusted and Lucy looked worried but proud of me. I felt terrible that the girls had to keep up with us on horseback as we finished the tour, but they did manage it wonderfully and I marveled at how such malnourished and slight bodies could manage the amount of exertion they did.

Finally, we arrived back at the castle and Jaaved told me I could put them in the cells of the palace if I wished. I shook my head and told him I could handle two small girls by myself without bars and he just shrugged and left me to it. I led them to my room in the palace and locked the door behind me just in case they decided to bolt.

I let go of the leads and the girls stood, hand in hand, looking at me with faces that made me almost want to shed a tear. The younger one looked frightened and was starting to cry again, but the older one was the one whose face had me wondering what hell they had been through. She was beautiful, or she was once before she had been starved and beaten, with long black hair (many people say I have black hair, but next to her I was sure it would be a very unimpressive brown) and eyes that were so dark brown they were almost black. And in those dark eyes I saw emotions I wasn't use to seeing all in the same individual. There was anger, fear, hatred but also a grim determination. I cleared my throat and tried to smile.

"My name is King Edmund the Just of Narnia," I bowed slightly out of common courtesy toward women and I noticed the younger one's eyes took on a funny look. "I would like to know your names if you're quite prepared to tell them to me."

"My name is Jinni," the younger one piped up. The older girl tensed up and I saw her hand tighten on Jinni's. "Ouch!"

I looked questioningly at the older girl.

"Why should I tell you?" she asked, her voice was cold and hard.

"You don't have to if you aren't ready to," I shrugged, knowing it was best not to push her. Those eyes were all too familiar and I had seen them in the mirror many times in England before I came to Narnia. But the knowledge I wasn't demanding her name must have struck a chord.

"My name is Najida," she said quietly.

I nodded in acceptance. If that was all I got out of her that was a good start.

Lucy came in at that time and she smiled kindly at the two girls. I introduced them and Jinni was immediately taken with Lucy. They began to bond the moment Lucy had stepped in the room! After a while of talking, Lucy took Jinni off for a bath and I found myself in the awkward position of being the one to offer Najida the same thing. She nodded and drug herself into the bathroom where a servant girl had already drawn what was meant to be MY bath…oh well.

I waited in my room for her to reappear and she finally did, her eyes fixed on the floor. I grabbed a tunic and trousers from my travel bags and handed them to her and was shocked when she just let the towel drop to the ground and started to pull on the pants. I blushed fiercely and immediately averted my eyes to the wall behind me. I didn't even notice when she walked away from the door and went over to the window until she crossed my line of vision. Her silhouette was framed in moonlight and I shuddered at how thin she was.

"Are you hungry?" I asked quietly, so as not to spook her.

She turned from the window and looked at me with wide eyes and nodded meekly. I smiled and pulled the servant bell by the door. Moment later, one of those scantily clad girls came in and asked me what I needed, but after the towel dropping incident she didn't seem so bad. I gave her a list of things to bring up to eat and she left to comply immediately and was back very quickly.

I took the tray with a "thank you" and set it on the table next the where Najida was still standing as she looked out the window at the moon. She took one look at the food before her, glanced at me as if seeking permission and then tucked in at an alarming rate when I nodded my approval. I watched in disgusted fascination as she shoveled it down.

"I…take it you haven't eaten in a while…" I stammered. She didn't say a word but just looked at me. "I…guess you'll have to share this bed with me then. Aslan knows it's big enough for both of us plus some."

And that's when I discovered why this girl's eyes seemed so haunted. She stood there and looked at me for some time with an expression of disgust and then she sighed and walked stiffly to the bed where she laid down and fixed her gaze on the ceiling. I shrugged and slipped out of my boots as I walked over to take my place on the other side of the bed. But when I reached the foot of the bed she looked right at me and untied her trousers, slid them off and spread her legs wide before I even knew what was happening. I looked at her in shock.

"Umm…what are you doing?" I asked in surprise.

"I've given up trying to fight," her small voice was barely understandable.

"Fight?" I know I seemed dense, but I'd really never been in that situation before. She nodded and, before I knew it, she was pulling me down and I was right on top of her, her legs wrapped around me. Oh…I finally got it!

I rolled off immediately and sat her up by the shoulders.

"Najida," I said seriously, looking her directly in the eyes, "I don't want you to do that. I don't want TO do that to you. I just meant that you could sleep in the bed with me!"

She blinked a few times, clearly not believing me.

"Oh, Aslan's Mane, are you a prostitute?" I breathed in shock.

"I am NOT!" her voice rose angrily. She rose up onto her knees and I noticed the stripe where the whip had struck her on her thigh for the first time.

But I knew better than to try and do anything about it now. I prayed the bath she took would have cleaned it well enough until Lucy could take care of it. This girl had been treated in the worst possible ways and I knew better than to even TRY to touch her. In fact, in an act of decency and respect for her space, I grabbed a pillow and some blankets from the bed and slept on the floor that night.

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**Not quite how I wanted it to be written but I am SO tired. So…there it is, the product a half asleep brain.**


	3. Bought!

**It just came to my mind that all my OCs names begin with Na so far. This is unintentional and I think it's kind of funny! But I found the name Najida in a Middle Eastern baby name archive and it means "one who accomplishes difficult tasks, or courageous" which fit the character and it a pretty neat coincidence.**

**Anyway, here is the next chapter :D**

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NAJIDA's POV

When I woke up that morning in the familiar atmosphere of a disgusting, unclean cell I was not surprise and nor did I even try to imagine it away. I had learned that imagining and dreaming of better things only resulted in letdown and disappointment. So I stood up immediately and waited to be collared and led out. Jinni and the others rose as well and lined up behind me.

"Well, ain't you all just all proper and respectful today?" the slaver whose name I never bothered to learn said with his same old leering smile. "Well it's a good thing you feel like cooperating because we have a little present for ye."

My eyes widened in horror as he pulled from his filthy pockets a handful of small but thick golden circlets and he held them up with glee. Nose rings. Oh, in the name of any deity who might give an ounce of concern, please don't let this happen! But I didn't expect any sympathy from gods and goddesses who had never shown me a bit of pity before so I wasn't surprised when the slaver's firm arm grabbed me around the neck and bent my head back. I tried to fight back but my bodily state was much less powerful than it had been due to lack of food and water and I knew my weak pushing and pulling and kicking wasn't doing any good. I felt the cold point of the nose ring press to the skin of my columella and I turned my head in a last attempt to avoid it. But then a sharp cutting pain cut through my whole face as the thick ring was forced through skin and cartilage and the slaver let me go. I stumbled to the floor and held my tender nose between my fingers, trying to stop the blood flowing out of it, but I didn't shed a tear because I didn't want him to have the pleasure of seeing it. One after one, the girls' noses were pierced through and they were thrown back in the cell to let the blood stop. Then they would wash our faces clean of it and lead us out to the platform to be sold.

My head hung low as I was led up the street by my collar, thankful for the fact that they had not decided to use the nose rings. Jinni was still letting out little sobs as we walked and I knew it was not just the pain, but also the fear of being sold that was making her whimper as she was.

I let out a hopeless sigh when I saw the platform ahead. Someone was already selling in front of us so our slaver tied us all to the back of the platform once more where we waited in the heat for our turns before the disgusting crowd of people who viewed us as their soon to be possessions. After a long time behind the platform, we were finally led out in a line where, one by one, we were loosed from each other and led up to be sold. Finally, it was just me and Jinni left and it finally hit me that we were going to be sold separate from each other! I clung onto Jinni's wrist as the slaver started to pull her away. Over my dead body would she be sold without me to look after her! Jinni started sobbing and I was shouting all kinds of nasty threats at the slaver who was yanking her up the steps but my grip was solid and I refused to let her go. But then a sharp pain shot through my leg and I stumbled to my knees on the wood of the platform and realized the other slaver's whip had caught me around my thigh. I was about to turn on him and do my best to claw him apart when a voice spoke up and I looked around in shock at how silent the crowd had gotten. I came face to face with none other than the dark haired king I had seen the previous day.

"Get up," he whispered quickly. His hand closed on my arm and I felt him pull me to my feet, the contrast between our skins was shocking to me! I had never seen someone so pale before in all my days of living in Lower Calormen! But I pulled out of his grip and immediately took my place next to Jinni, standing slightly in front of her for protection. The pale king stood before us and started randomly poking us all over and I wondered what in Tash's name he was doing! But then, in a moment of horror, I saw him pull several coins out and hand them to our slaver. We had just been bought by this white barbarian!

The best of it was we were removed of our collars and worst of it was that our slaver slipped the leather cords through our freshly healed nose rings and handed them to the king. I braced myself for the harsh tug that would surely make tears come to even MY hardened eyes but…it didn't come. The king just waited until I prodded Jinni forward and ordered her in a whisper to maintain some slack in the rope and not try to run.

Apparently the king was being given a tour of the city because we were made to jog along behind the three figures on horseback through a vast part of the city and I felt my legs beginning to shake as we headed back up the streets, heading for the palace. I had always wanted to see the palace but now it seemed like that very last place I wanted to be. I knew what would happen to us once we got there and I cringed at the thought of being ruthlessly used yet again, but decided I would be submissive to anything or anyone if I could find just the right moment to escape and find my sister. I pulled my shoulders back and set my face with grim determination.

But my bravado faded as we were led inside the huge and beautiful palace by the barbarian king by our noses. He took us both to a room where he turned and locked the door behind us. I looked over at Jinni who was standing next to me and I took hold of her hand in comfort. The king turned back to us and, in the light of the room with no crowds and no fear of being tugged too hard, I got a good look at him for the first time.

He was not tall by any standard, but he was of a decent stature and I noted with some apprehension that, although they were lean, he had well formed muscles. I could just tell he was a fearsome combatant due to the strength that was obviously present in his shoulders and arms. As I noticed before, his skin was pale as moonlight, but not in an unattractive way, it was kind of creamy looking in the lamplight. His hair was dark and his eyes were like melted chocolate which I found to be sharply contrasting with his skin color. This, I assumed, was what most women would find themselves fatally attracted to. Fatally, because under that handsome and attractive exterior lay the same internal superiority and cruelness I had found all men to be in possession of.

I don't really remember just what happened in the next moments but I vaguely recall telling him my name and a girl coming to take Jinni to another room which I was glad to see happen. Maybe if I did my best to wear him out when he took me he wouldn't have the energy to even touch Jinni. I waited for the inevitable grip on my arms, the lips crushing mine, the weight pressing down on every inch of me…I waited for the pain. But nothing happened. He just stood there looking at me as if he was calculating a complicated arithmetic problem.

Finally, he told me there was a bath drawn for me in the adjoining room. I didn't blame him, I guess. No one wants to get up close and personal to someone who hasn't bathed in weeks. Despite my fear of what was to come, I was grateful to slip into the warmth of the bath water of the copper bathtub. The Tisroc's palace certainly was a nice place to be a slave, I assured myself.

I finally decided it was time to quite stalling and just face my destiny. So I stood up and wrapped a towel around me, not knowing why I even bothered to do so. But when I stepped into the room he handed me some clothes. I looked at him with a puzzled expression and just assumed he wanted the thrill at taking them OFF me. So I sighed weakly and began to put them on, the way he avoided looking at me didn't go unnoticed and I mused that he must be new at this.

I took a breath to steady myself and slowly walked over to the large window to look out on the city below. Anything to take my mind off of my situation.

"Are you hungry?" I heard his voice ask. I turned to him in surprised but found myself nodding despite my bubbling hatred. I was STARVING. And when the food was set down before me and I saw he wasn't going to keep me from eating it, I tore into it like a wild animal. I don't even know what it was exactly that I ate but it was the best thing I ever tasted in a LONG time and so I ignored the look he was giving me, the corner of his mouth twisted in slight disgust as I smacked and slurped and chomped.

"I take it you haven't eaten in a while?" I heard him muse, "I guess you'll have to share this bed with me then…"

He said something else but I didn't need to hear it. So we finally came to it. Was the long wait and lead on part of his sick plan all along? I sighed heavily and walked to the huge bed with my shoulders back and head up. He might treat me like a piece of property instead of human being but I had a sense of self respect and dignity that no man, no matter what he did to me, could take away. So I laid back on the soft comforter and gazed up at the intricately carved ceiling…at least it was pretty and it would take my mind off of things.

I heard him approach and could practically feel his presence at my feet. I decided to just get this done as quick as possible so I slipped out of the pant I was wearing and, closing my eyes and thinking of anything else but reality, spread my legs wide. It was just easier this way.

"Um…what are you doing?" I heard him ask, his voice sounded higher than it had and I saw his expression was one of utter disbelief. But what I noticed the most was how his locked on mine instead of other obvious places.

"I've given up trying to fight," I said quietly, not wanting my voice to give away how much I was shaking.

"Fight?" he sounded confused and I rolled my eyes. Annoyance boiled up in me and I decided this was ridiculous so I took matters into my own hands. I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down on top of me, his weight pressed fully on me and I had to bite my lips to keep a sharp cry back. That was probably a foolish thing to do, trying to crush myself I suppose. I just wanted to get this over with and move on as quick as possible!

But he rolled off to the side. I felt him grab my shoulders and found myself in and upright position as he looked at me, his brown eyes wide. He said something about not doing anything and then, to my utmost shock, he grabbed a pillow and some blankets and made his bed on the floor and didn't even try to get back up here with me.

I laid there in the dark and wondered what on earth had just occurred.

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**Ever had a craving for a movie that is so intense you search the entire college campus and ask everyone you know if they have it but NO ONE DOES? Yeah…I had that kind of an evening.**

**Anyway, there's that chapter. Same story from a different view point which may occur sometimes but I'll keep it to a minimum.**

**Reviews are awesome! :D**


	4. Betrayed

**Sorry it took me so long to update! Jazz Choir has been crazy what with the new Andrews Sisters song we just got, Anatomy tests and a Microbiology test. I am SO glad my life is about to wind down a bit. Also got the news I'm going to New York City with my school so…YYYEEEEEHAAAAAAAWWWW! (Yeah…I'm a hick).**

**So here's the next chapter!**

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When my eyes fluttered open the next morning I thought I was still dreaming. I was wrapped in warm blankets and silk sheets, sunlight was streaming through a window on one side of me, I was laying on a soft mattress instead of a stone floor or the ground…mmmm, could I NOT wake up, please? Then I heard a sound come from somewhere around me that made me jump and pull the covers over my head, the sound of a heavy groan and shifting. There was a man in this room! This was no dream…it was a nightmare!

I carefully peeked out from the covers and leaned toward the edge of the bed. On the floor next to the bed I was on, sprawled out and breathing softly, was a dark haired, pale skinned boy. And that's when the previous day came flooding back into my brain. That boy on the floor was my new master. I HATED that word…master.

There was a knock on the door and my head snapped up and my eyes locked on it, my body tensed to bolt. But my muscles relaxed when Jinni's face peeped around the edge of the door as it opened quietly. She glanced down at the boy on the floor and then at me with eyes pleading me to come with her. I carefully slipped out of bed, tip toed across the floor and carefully shut the door behind me. Then I grabbed Jinni's hand and took off at a run down the hallway.

"Come on, Jinni!" I said urgently, "We can get away if we go now before he wakes up!"

I was pulled off balance as Jinni planted her feet and skidded to a stop. She yanked me back.

"Najida!" she said in shock, her eyes wide. "Why would we want to run?"

"Jinni, have you not learned anything at all?" I was exasperated and I continued tugging on her arm but she was stronger then she looked I guess. "Jinni, your own father sold you into slavery! The slavers, every single one we've been led by, have brutally used you! Every girl we ever saw bought became nothing more than a man's whore! This one is no different!"

Jinni's eyes widened and she grasped my hands in hers.

"Did he…?" she implied.

"No…" I replied hesitantly, "But it's only a matter of time. It's inevitable!"

Jinni pulled completely out of my grasp and, with a shake of her head, ran back down the hall in the direction from where we had just come. I took off after her but I couldn't catch her before she ran into a room to her right. I followed her inside and grabbed her shoulders to shake some sense into her when we heard the sound of voices coming down the hall outside. I motioned for her to be quiet and pulled her behind the thick drapes that were bunched by the sides of the window. I peeked through a separation and saw three Calormen men enter the room, looking secretive. They were speaking in hushed whispers and I found my curiosity urging me to pay attention.

"You heard the orders as well as I," one of the men said, he was very tall and thin with a black goatee. "We are to lock him in the deepest part of the Tisroc's (May he live forever!) dungeons."

"Indeed, I heard the orders," the second man, a short man with no beard, replied indignantly, "I just questioned what we would say when asked why we have done it."

"When the Tisroc (May he live forever) speaks that is all the reason any shall ever need." The third man, short, plump, and balding said. His voice had a tint of authority in it and the other two fell silent. "There is to be no more discussion, you have your orders. Now I suggest you carry them out immediately."

"I have no sorrows about throwing the barbarian king into the rats' dens," the first man said as they began to disband, "But I request the young queen be given to me as my personal slave."

The second man opened his mouth, I supposed to lay his own claim, but the older man raised his hand to silence him and looked firmly at the first man.

"It will be as your desire," he said darkly, "But if she would somehow escape and get words to those Narnians, your head shall be presented to the Tisroc (May he live forever) on a golden plate."

And then they left the room. I let loose of Jinni, who had begun to shake uncontrollably, and took a steadying breath.

"Ok, now are you ready to get out of here, Jinni?" I asked seriously, "We see now that no one can be trusted."

Jinni looked very thoughtful for a moment and then she looked at me with eyes set with determination.

"We have to warn them!" she cried suddenly, making a dash for the door. I tried to stop her but she was out in a flash.

We ran back to the bedroom we had come from earlier and Jinni would have burst right in if I hadn't grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. I clapped my hand over her mouth and bid her listen for a moment. Suddenly, we heard the sound of frantic shuffling and muffled cries and then a sickening thud as something heavy, the Narnian king's body I suppose, hit the floor. I pulled Jinni quickly into the door across the hall and peeked out of the slight crack I left open. The door across the hall opened and I saw the two younger men look around carefully as they dragged the motionless body of the king along the floor, there was blood dripping from his left temple and his expression was pained. They soon disappeared around the corner of the hall and I carefully led Jinni out of the room.

"See? Now let's get out of here!" I whispered urgently.

"Queen Lucy!" Jinni replied, her eyes filled with fear and concern.

"What is she to you?" I demanded.

"She was quite kind to me last night!" Jinni stated firmly, "She fed me well, gave me water, gave me a bed, and she was going to give me a dress later today. She told me stories about her country and about her family. The King Edmund is her brother."

"You're willing to throw away your chance at freedom to try and warn some barbarian queen whom you hardly know of the plans of the Tisroc?" I didn't say the expected wish of eternal life on him, he was no leader of mine.

"Yes." Jinni's voice was calm, but deadly serious.

I sighed heavily. I couldn't just leave her, could I? No. So we snuck down the halls until we reached Lucy's room and we slowly opened the door. Jinni gasped at the state we found the room in. The sheets of the bed were thrown on the floor, telling me she had been grabbed right out of her sleep, a chair was over turned from a struggle, a vase lay shattered into pieces on the floor, and a small dagger was stuck in the wall where I assumed she had tried to throw it at her assailant.

"Were too late," I murmured, poking at the overturned chair with my foot.

Jinni looked devastated and she started to cry quietly. I grabbed her in a hug of comfort.

"We…we have to do something!" she insisted.

"Jinni, what could we possibly…?" But I was cut short when the door flung open and the old man we had seen with two other two stood looking at us with cold eyes.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked, his voice dripping with venom.

"We…we came to awaken the queen for her morning walk in the menagerie," I lied quickly. I always had been quick to talk my way out of things.

"Well she isn't here, so I suggest you clean up this room and then my guard here will escort you to the servants quarters for an assignment." The old man said and he turned on his heel and departed, leaving his guard standing in waiting for us.

So we cleaned to room to maintain our front and did it as slowly as we could without arising suspicion. Then the guard roughly pushed us down many corridors until we reached a dark, dank place where the servants of the palace slept and lived. The person in charge happened to be a heavyset woman who looked light skinned than most of the people in this palace, and I knew right away she had once been a slave who had worked her way up through cruelty to the other servants.

"You two are new," she chuckled, "Well, in that case, I have extra special jobs for you. You will beat the tapestries…ALL of them."

She handed the rug beater to Jinni who took it quickly. Then, with a pleading look back at me, was ushered out to the garden where a terrible amount of rugs hung on ropes suspended between trees.

"And you," she pointed at me, "You are to take the meals to the prisoners. It'll do their tired and emotionless eyes good to see such a fine specimen as you. Give them a good show, missie."

I shuddered inwardly but decided it best to play along. Somehow, I had to get back to Jinni and we would make a break for it no matter what she said.

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**Poor Najida has some major trust issues it seems. I was planning on writing more but I am getting a migraine so…not a good plan to stare at a computer screen so this is all you get for now until tomorrow. Sorry :D**

**Reviews are boss!**


	5. I Promise

**Mmmmmmm Crunchy Nut cereal….SO glad the U.S. sells it now! I have writing fuel :D**

**Ok, here goes!**

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I was led down the servant's entrance to the dungeons. The servant's entrance, honestly, was just a system of large tunnels that ran from the servants quarters under the palace to many different places so the servants could get where they needed to be without showing their faces where they weren't wanted. But they hadn't been used recently I assumed due to the amount of cobwebs and filth that had accumulated which is brushed aside and shuffled through as I was led by another servant to the fork in the tunnel where he pointed to the farthest left tunnel and told me to follow it. I followed it and found myself in the kitchen where I told them what I had been ordered to do. They handed me three trays which I balanced carefully on my hands and head (yes, I was proficient at this!) and I went back into the tunnel and followed the tunnel the rest of the way until I found the dark, lonely entrance of the dungeons.

I was surprised, actually, that there were only three prisoners down here. The Tisroc must be going soft, I mused.

The guard on duty opened the first cell and I set two of the trays outside it so I could better manage just the one. The prisoner inside was a Calormen obviously from his skin color and his clothes and I vaguely wondered why he was in the dungeons but I didn't care enough to ask and I simply set the try down before him.

"You're new here," the man said quietly, his voice sounded weary. "You're not the girl who usually brings our meals."

"How long have you been down here?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. From the look of his hair, the smell he was giving off, and the state of his cell I would say it had been a good chunk of time.

"About four years," the man replied, his voice emotionless. Then he started eating like a starved wild animal and I backed out of the cell to move to the next one so I grabbed a tray and walked to the next inhabited cell.

As soon as I saw the figure inside, my whole body tense and recoiled. My brain was screaming at me not to go in that cell but I knew I had no choice because the guard was watching me closely, his eyes full of warning. So I took a deep breath, put on my most nonchalant face and stepped in.

The inhabitant of this cell was definitely not Calormen…he was a Telmarine. What he was doing in this dungeon was a mystery to me but I really didn't care about why at the moment, I focused on getting done with this task. I set the tray down before him and started to back away when I felt his cold and grimy hand clamp onto my wrist.

"Release me, sir," I said calmly, my voice threatening.

"Oh, I think not, little girly," his gruff voice in his Telmarine accent made my skin crawl and I tried unsuccessfully to wrench my hand away. "I believe it's in your job description to provide for us poor prisoners down here."

"I heard no such thing," I lied, of course, but I was thinking of any way to get out of this.

"Don't talk back to me you little wench!" he pulled me roughly and my balance was thrown off, causing me to fall forward right into the filthy lap of the Telmarine. I gasped in disgust as his mouth covered mine and his tongue forced through my lips and all the way back to my throat. I gagged and tried to pull away but I was held tight by his painful grip on my hair and around my waist. Finally, he pulled back and I gasped for breath and found myself nauseated by the taste of him, I gulped back the bile rising in my throat but didn't show any form of emotion.

"Dance for me, darling," the Temarine growled, "I gotta eat a little at least. Make it good because it's been FAR too long."

I stood to my feet and sighed. Humiliation was something I was use to by now and dancing was a skill I had learned very quickly in the slavers' possessions. So I took a deep breath and untied the straps that held up my torn and tattered dress and let it slip to the floor, I stood there, completely bare, in the coldness of the cell and then I pulled the twine out of my hair that held it in a tight braid and shook my black tresses free. They fell down to the middle of my back and over my chest and I saw the Temarine's eyes start to bulge. Then I started moving, my hips leading my steps and my head leaned back slightly, my eyes closed. I twisted, wiggled and stepped and even slid up and down the cell bars, doing my very best to ignore the shame that never failed to fill my heart when I found myself in these situations.

Finally, the Telmarine finished eating and I grabbed my dress and pulled it back on.

"Beautiful, darling," he said with a wicked smile, handing me the tray. "Best one yet."

"Thank you," I mumbled darkly. I slipped quickly out of the cell and when I slammed the door shut I finally let a few tears escape from my eyes and they slid down my cheeks, but I didn't let a sound escape my lips. He wouldn't have the satisfaction of seeing me in that state. I squared my shoulder after a minute and moved on to the last cell where I knew the Narnian king was being kept.

I swung open the door to the cell and spotted him in the far corner, lying on his side with his arm propping his head up, his eyes glistened in the slight light of the dungeon and I saw that he wasn't even bothering to look at me. He was focused intently on a bug on the floor.

"I do hope you aren't so desperate that you are considering eating that," I muttered. I don't know why I spoke, but I didn't worry about it and set the tray before him. His gaze flicked from the bug to me, from me to the tray of food, from the food back up to me.

"Thank you, Najida," I heard his say. His voice sounded weak and I watched as he sat up slowly, his face scrunched up in pain and I heard him hiss through his teeth. He eyed the tray of food with distrust and slowly lifted the chunk of bread to his mouth and tested it, it must have been decent or he was terribly hungry, because he ate it quickly and chugged the water in one tilt. He sighed and his eyes dropped to the floor.

"I saw what happened over there," he tiled his head toward the cell I had previously come from. Oh great…here it comes. He's going to want an encore.

But, to my surprise, he raised his eyes to meet mine and they were filled with pity. He was pitying ME when he was the one rotting in a cell? I was too shocked to say a word.

"I'm sorry you feel you have to do that," his voice was quiet.

And that moment, when I gazed back into his dark eyes, something deep inside me twisted painfully and I stood up quickly. As I stood there and looked at him, dried blood on the side of his face, bruises forming on his wrists from when they had dragged him, his teeth clenched in pain, I felt something I had never felt before. I felt…sorry for him.

"Please," his voice interrupted my thoughts, it was choked and desperate sounding. "Tell me…what have they done with Lucy?"

I shook my head sadly.

"I don't know," I replied sadly, and it was true.

"Can you…can you please try to get her out of here?"

He was seriously asking me a favor? Or…was this a slave owner giving me an order…yes, that must be it.

"Yes, master," I mumbled with a bow and turned to leave.

"Najida!" Edmund's voice was authoritative but not mean and I turned my head to look at him, "I'm not your master. I'm asking you as one decent human being to another, please don't let them hurt my sister. Please…get her back to Narnia."

And I knew I would do my best. My heart clenched and I knew I really had no choice.

"I will," I whispered back to him, "I promise."

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**There's the next chapter! I'm gonna watch Whose Line Is It Anyway now :D**

**Reviews make me smile!**


	6. The Escape

**Just had a pizza toastie :D Delicious! No homework, no obligations…time to write!**

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Jinni and I were given a bed to share in the servant quarters, although I think the floor would have suited me better because the bed was so lumpy it felt like I was sleeping on rocks. So it was no wonder that I found myself awake in the late hours of the night, my mind wouldn't let me sleep any more than my body would. I don't know why, but all I could think about was where the Narnian queen might be at that moment and when I finally felt like I would explode if I laid there on those lumps for a moment longer, I sat up quickly and silently and slipped into my clothes. I shook Jinni and motioned for her to be quiet and follow me. She didn't even hesitate, she just put her clothes on and followed me out of the sleeping area.

"Where are we going, Najida?" she asked when we were a good ways away from the other sleepers.

"To find that barbarian queen," I muttered, looking around carefully for any guards.

"Lucy?" Jinni's whisper sounded shocked, "I thought you didn't care…"

"I promised her brother I would get her to safety," I explained quickly, pulling her across the yard and in through a window that was open that led to the library.

"But…I thought you hated him!"

"I do," I hissed, trying to satisfy her curiosity before we took another step. "Look, I went down to the dungeon yesterday and he made me promise to get her back to Narnia. Why should she suffer for her brother's foolishness?"

I didn't quite know what foolishness that might be, but that king was in the cell beneath this palace for a reason and I was quite sure it wasn't the young queen's fault. But, despite myself, I wondered what exactly he had done to deserve it.

Shaking that thought from my head, I cracked open the door into the large hallway and crept carefully along the wall, heading who knows where! I really didn't have a plan; I just knew I had to find where they were keeping the Narnian queen. So I kept searching room after room, almost waking up a few people when, finally, after nearly an hour of searching, I opened a door to a bedroom and my eyes widened. There she was, sitting on the floor of the room in a shaft of moonlight, her arms clasped around her knees as she rocked back and forth. She was wearing a sheer skirt and merely a purple bra to match the color of the skirt, she had a veil about her face and her hair was up in curls atop her head. She was in tears and I heard her sniff quietly.

I knew what this was! The clothing was in the style of a virgin bride awaiting her husband's arrival in the honeymoon chamber. And that's why I stepped in the room quickly and approached her with my finger to my lips. We had little time before he got here.

"Queen Lucy," I whispered as I laid a hand on her bare shoulder. Her eyes, shimmering with tears, gazed back at me with surprise but also a glimmer of hope. "Come, there is no time to waste. I have orders from your brother to get you out of here and back to Narnia."

I pulled the young queen to her feet and motioned for her to keep silent and follow Jinni and I. She hesitated for only a second and then began to slink along behind us as we carefully made our way out of the room and down the hall. Jinni jabbed me from behind just as we came to a turn and I spread my arms to halt our advance. I heard voices around the corner.

Grabbing Jinni's hand, I pushed her and Queen Lucy into the door to our right and carefully kept it from swinging shut loudly just before two guards walked around the corner with torches as they did their night inspection of the palace. When I took a look around the room we were in I suddenly realized how we could get out of here with hardly a problem…the servant tunnels!

"Follow me," I said softly. I felt around in the dark for the trap door in the floor that led down to the tunnel and smiled when my hand found the handle. Jinni climbed down first, then the queen, with me in the rear. "Now, to the left, go!"

"No!" Lucy's voice cut the silence of the tunnel like a blade. "Not without my brother!"

"He's locked in the dungeon," I replied harshly, annoyed at the time we were losing. "He's guarded and chained and probably in no condition to be making a getaway. The Calormen's are awful fond of whips and hot coals you know!"

Lucy and Jinni were both looking at me with eyes full of disbelief. Lucy's eyes began leaking big fat tears out of the corners and her face became so terribly sad that I immediately regretted my words, even if they were all true.

"We must try, Najida!" Jinni said quietly, but firmly. "You and I both know one guard won't take much persuasion."

And it was the truth. I knew it was. So, with a heavy sigh, I turned our troupe to the right and headed in the direction of the dungeon.

Sure enough, the guard was leaning back in his chair, reading a scroll by candlelight. I pushed Lucy into the wall and told her not to make a sound, then I put on my most seductive face and walked in. The guard jumped to attention and drew his dagger he had in his belt, but when he saw me he relaxed.

"What might you be here for?" he asked, his voice heavy with suggestion. "Come to 'relieve' me?"

I wanted to gag at the way his pompous voice grated on my nerves, but I kept a steady smile and shook my head slowly.

"Not interested, sir," I said in a sickeningly sweet tone, "I was down here earlier and I took a liking to that young barbarian king. I'd like to have another chance at making him see reason."

I winked and the guard got a knowing look on his face. He handed me the keys…it really WAS that simple.

"I think you owe me for this," he whispered as I walked past him. I winked over my shoulder and continued down the row of cells with a wiggling walk. While he stared at my retreating figure, Jinni crept up behind him and I heard the 'thunk' sound of a stone from the floor knocked him to the floor unconscious. Jinni and Lucy ran to my side as I reached the last cell wherein I saw the Narnian king curled in the far corner.

I flung open the barred door and his head shot up, his dark eyes filled with fright. Lucy made a funny squeaking noise and dropped to his side and pulled him into a sitting position. I had been right, I saw, because he looked weak and in pain and I saw dried blood on the material of his shredded shirt. If he turned around, I mused, his sister would probably pass out from the deep gashes on his back from the Calormen glass whips. I shuddered at the thought.

"Come," I hissed, "We need to get to the stables before the sun rises."

Edmund must have registered that this was an escape, because he took a deep breath and pulled himself to his feet with a sharp hiss of pain. But he didn't let it show for long as he grabbed his sword from the guard room where it was being kept and handed Lucy a belt with a dagger and a small glass bottle in a pouch on it. They strapped on their weapons and followed behind me as I led them down the tunnel that would bring us out on the patio where the servants did the laundry.

We slipped out of the tunnel into the moonlight and I made a way toward the stable within the shadows of trees, buildings, and statues. I was glad to see, as we rounded the last corner between us and the stables, that several horses were grazing in a paddock behind the stables. They would be so much easier to steal.

Very quietly and carefully, we alerted the horses to our presences so as not to startle them and then, one by one, we led them out of the paddock by their manes and mounted up bareback. I motioned toward the main gate but Lucy shook her head and pointed at a water gate just past the stable. It led out of the city and directly toward the river! Lucy was smarter than I gave her credit for.

We walked the horses out of the gate and then took off at full gallop toward the north. Toward Narnia. And, for the first time in my life, I felt like I was headed in the right direction.

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**There's a chapter for you! Now I'm gonna get some much needed sleep!**

**It would rock to wake up to reviews tomorrow :D**


	7. Disagreements and Healing

**I'm in the middle of watching the movie Citizen Kane with my roomie so I figured I could do some writing while I'm at it. Sorry if the updates having been coming as fast, ya'll but college has become slightly more demanding! I actually have to study this year!**

**So…I'll do my best to keep he updates coming and don't get discouraged if I go a day or two without one because life is hectic! Here's another chapter =)**

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One thing I hadn't counted on was provisions and shelter, all I had thought about was getting out without being seen. I mentally chided myself for being so ridiculously irresponsible.

It had been Edmund who had pointed it out…of course. He had halted our progress, insisting we wouldn't make it across the desert if we didn't get some things together. I was indignant that he seemed to be taking over this escape.

"Forgive me if I was too concern about getting us OUT to think about petty details!" I snapped at him angrily as he called us to a halt. "Or would you like to be back in that cell?"

Every eye in our party, even one of the horses, gazed back at me in shock.

"Najida!" Jinni squeaked, her eyes flicked over to where Edmund had turned his horse around to look at me. She looked a bit frightened and I knew she was thinking I had just earned a severe beating.

"I wasn't assuming anything against your intelligence," Edmund said, his voice low, "Nor was I lessening the gratefulness I feel toward you for your rescue."

I bit my tongue, realizing that he really wasn't criticizing me. But my eyes still burned with anger because, due to my lack of experience with men who actually spoke to me like I was human, I really didn't know what to do.

"I simply think that, before we go a step further, we need to think about how we will make it across the desert," Edmund continued speaking and he turned his horse around and pulled up beside me, our knees touched because his horse was so close to mine. "If that's alright with our valiant rescuer?"

I know that the tinge in his voice was teasing, but it made my blood boil and, without thinking, I pulled back my fist and drove it full force into his nose. I smiled in smug satisfaction as he slid from his saddle and fell to the ground with a thud. Lucy squealed and dismounted immediately and ran to her brother's side.

"Oh yeah," I muttered, "Pander to the male. Isn't that what women were made for?"

Lucy's wide eyes turned to look at me in disbelief, her mouth twisted in disgust.

"What is the matter with you!" she hissed, her eyes flashed with anger and I felt a twinge of regret for my words. "I don't "pander" to anyone, thank you very much! I choose to listen to him and follow his lead because he is my brother and has never let me down!"

"Let's not be TOO kind, Lu," Edmund's voice was low and pained as he gingerly held his nose. I saw blood seeping through his fingers. "You know that's not true."

Lucy looked at him thoughtfully for a moment and her face softened as she gently tugged his hands from his face. I winced slightly at the amount of blood that was dripping from his nose onto the sand and that already covered his palms.

"Oh, Edmund," Lucy said softly and sadly, "You know I've put those memories aside. Oh, by the Lion, this is awful! Let me get my cordial!"

"No!" Edmund went to grab Lucy's arm but thought better of it when he looked at his blood covered hand, "Don't waste it, Lu! It'll stop in a minute."

He ripped a bit of his tunic off and wiped the blood from himself and stuffed some of the material up each nostril, making me giggle. But I didn't giggle for long because Jinni brought her horse up beside me and gave me a look of such shame that I began to feel foolish.

"I apologize for my brash action, King Edmund," I mumbled, lowering my gaze to the sand by my horse's front right hoof.

"Just…rein it in a bit. Ok, Najida?" Edmund chuckled, swinging back up into his saddle. I got a good look at his back then in the moonlight and a shudder ran up my back at the sight of the torn flesh that showed through the shredded fabric of his tunic. Unfortunately, I was not the only one to see it.

"EDMUND!" Lucy's shriek made us all jump and I motioned for her to shut up before a tower guard heard. But Lucy just ran to Edmund's horse and pulled him down. He stood next to her and looked at her like she was crazy until her hand slid down his back and he yelped, biting his bottom lip to keep himself silent. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Lucy," Edmund sounded weary and he shook his head, his black hair flopped into his eyes. "We just now got out of the city. There was no time to waste."

Lucy reached into a pocket on her belt and pulled out a vile full of red liquid and shoved in into Edmund's hand.

"Don't argue with me, Edmund," she whispered dangerously.

"Lucy, I said no," Edmund shoved the bottle back into her hand and backed away from her. "You KNOW how priceless the cordial is to Narnians in battle. If I'm not dying, I won't take it."

I cleared my throat and the both looked at me.

"if it's all to the acceptance of your Highness," I addressed Lucy, "I happen to know some things about Calormen healing."

"If it has anything to do with calling for Tash's help…" Lucy looked absolutely livid.

"Tash is no god of mine!" I snapped before she could finish her sentence, she relaxed a bit, "I know the herbs of the wilderness. I have had to treat many of the girls in my slave troupe after their whippings."

Edmund turned around then, his dark eyes glittered in the moonlight and I saw that he was looking at me with pity. He looked genuinely sorry for me.

"Alright," Lucy still sounded a little hesitant, "Do what you can. Jinni and I will sneak into the outer sections of the town and get water skins, food, and clothes."

Jinni readily agreed and dismounted to follow Lucy into the darkness as they crept back to the city.

Edmund sighed as he watched his sister's silhouette disappear over a dune and then he turned to me with a look of slight distrust.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he questioned. I clenched my jaw to keep from snapping at him that I should know better than anyone, especially a spoiled king!

"I'm positive," I mumbled. I made my way to a little vegetation spot by the river and searched around in the growth for something that might be helpful. I spotted the closed bud of a small purple flower and grinned. Perfect! I plucked a few of the little flowers and laid them on a piece of palm bark I tore from the tree. I smashed the flowers onto the bark and then took a little water from the river to rub in with it, making a violet colored paste.

When I came back, I found Edmund holding his horse's face in his hands, stroking the mare's nose gently as he whispered softly to it. The mare nickered and shoved his shoulder with her nose and he laughed. I decided, as I watched him caress the animal again, that I quite liked the sound of his laugh. But I shook my head and walked up to him.

"This mare is quite valued," I said, off-handedly.

"What makes you say that?" Edmund asked, looking genuinely curious.

"She has a gold cuff on her leg," I pointed with my chin toward the mare's front left ankle. A thin circlet of gold was resting around the top of her hoof. "It's how a certain Tarkaan marks a horse as his property. They all have a different way of doing it, like painting a marking on the fur, tying a ribbon in its mane or tail, or, in this case, a gold circlet."

Edmund smiled at me after he had examined the gold ring on the horse.

"I always did want to know more about the Calormen culture," he said cheerfully, "But, for apparently good reasons, we Narnians hesitate to come here very often. It seems we constantly find ourselves at odds with your people."

"I don't claim to be a Calormen," I said quietly, setting my bark on the sand and sitting down with my legs crossed, "Not after what they have done to me."

"Kind of like how you hate men?" Edmund chuckled as he sat next to me.

"Yes."

We both fell into total silence for a few minutes; the sounds of the desert night filled our ears. The frogs on the riverbanks croaked, some bugs whizzed about our heads, crickets in the riverside growth chirruped, owls hooted and jackals howled in the distance.

"I have something here that will help you to heal quicker and with less scarring," I finally found my voice to say.

"Alright then," Edmund replied, he wasn't looking at me and I assumed the desert had charmed him. His eyes were closed as he took in the sounds around him. "Do what you have to. I won't resist."

I took my piece of bark and moved to kneel behind him.

"Do you mind if I rip a bit of material off of your shirt?" I asked awkwardly.

"Psh, take it all!" Edmund laughed and proceeded to pull the entire thing over his head. I took a good chunk of it and went to soak it in the river. I came back and began rubbing his back clean of the dried blood that covered his back. He stiffened and hissed sharply at my less than gentle treatment of his very tender back. I rubbed until my cloth was dry and then went to soak and wring it in the river again. I came back and pressed it back onto him and he made a sad little noise in his throat and I felt a little guilty for acting how I was. This man had been nothing but kind to me and I was still treating him like an animal, or worse than an animal because I never harmed an animal if I had a choice!

So I tried to be careful as I washed the blood away. Finally, I had cleaned him well and dipped my fingers into the purple paste on my bark and raised my fingers to place it on one particularly long and jagged cut.

"This will sting a bit," I warned before I ran my finger from his shoulder to his hip, covering the red line in the flower paste. I felt him stiffen under my finger but he didn't make a sound. After covering all the injuries I could with the stuff, I sat back and claimed to be done.

Edmund did and experimental roll of his shoulders and then turned to look at me. His dark eyes were twinkling merrily and he gave me a wide smile.

"Thank you, Najida," he said softly, never breaking eye contact with me, "Thanks for everything you've done for my sister and I. We won't forget it."

I shook my head savagely, trying to ignore his words. But, deep down inside me in a place I swore I had lost forever, something felt warm and happy. But I refused to believe it was more than a mere bit of indigestion.

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**So there's a chapter for ya'll! =) I hope Najida's character is unique and I hope I do ALL the character justice. Let me know what you think so far!**


	8. The Tombs

**So today was an AWESOME day! I got back in touch with a friend I've lost contact with recently and we had a good, long discussion about life and being friends. I missed him a lot so it made my day just to be able to talk to him.**

**And now, I should be doing homework, but I really only have one thing to do so I'll do it later. So I'm gonna write =)**

**And to all my reviewers: Thanks so much for your feedback and your personal touches. It's fun to know who's reading along =)**

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Lucy and Jinni arrived back at our little hideout by the river just about the time Edmund had begun to get worried and had begun to plan on going to find them. Lucy was carrying empty water skins and a pile of clothes while Jinni hefted two large bags of various food, mostly dates. Good thinking, I mused, dates would last a long time and were pretty filling.

"I feel terrible," Lucy mumbled as she dropped her pile on the ground, "I don't think Aslan would appreciate us stealing."

She sat down next to Edmund and he placed an arm around her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Lu," he said cheerfully, "I'm sure Aslan will forgive us. It's imperative that we are well prepared before we try crossing the desert and we have no way of doing it legally."

"Well," I said, grabbing up a goldenrod colored dress from the clothes pile, "Let's get a move on, shall we? We should at least reach the tombs before morning so we're out of view of the city."

Jinni followed my lead and took a dress from the pile of clothes. We both went off into the trees to trade our rags for the first dress we had seen since being sold to slavery. It felt lovely to slip into the smooth material and I let out a long sigh of relief.

"Najida," Jinni spoke up as she walked over to where I was. She looked lovely in her olive green dress and I smiled at her. "Do you think they'll take us to Narnia to stay?"

"I haven't really thought about it," I admitted, "But I think Narnia would be the safest place for us right now. I have to make a plan to find my sister and Narnia sounds like a place we can settle down and figure out what to do."

"So…" Jinni hesitated, "You…WANT to go to Narnia?"

"Yes."

"Even if it means traveling with King Edmund?" Jinni's tone of voice told me exactly what she was insinuating.

"Jinni, I'm not exactly crazy about the idea," I sighed, "But I have no other choice. He and his sister are the only ones who can get us safely into the country. I feel our nations are obviously not very friendly toward each other. We would be killed at the border if we tried to get in without them."

"I'm glad to hear you trust them," Jinni smiled widely.

"I didn't say I trusted him." I muttered and walked back out to where Lucy and Edmund were waiting for us.

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"We need to head North West if we want to find the tombs," I pointed toward the horizon as our horses plodded alongside the river. "We should be there before sunset."

I looked over my shoulder to check on the members of our little band of runaways. Jinni was gazing off in the distance lost in deep though by the look on her face, Lucy was looking nervous and kept glancing back the way we had come as if she expected a group of Calormen soldiers to gallop up and take us captive and Edmund was slumped in his saddle, eyes shut. I knew he wasn't asleep but he was trying to keep a bold face on for Lucy's sake. I knew, however, that he was starting to weaken immensely.

I decided that, once we reached the tombs, he would be force fed that cordial Lucy kept offering or he wasn't going to make it across the desert.

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We reached the tombs just as the sun was sinking behind the horizon and I quickly went about gathering brush for a fire. Jinni slunk off into the shadows of the tombs with her bow and returned a while later with two large jackrabbits for dinner.

When we had settled down to eat, I took a seat next to Lucy and leaned over to speak to her semi-privately.

"Lucy," I said firmly, "Your brother must have some of your healing cordial if he wishes to survive the crossing."

"He won't take it," Lucy said, her voice annoyed but accepting.

"He won't really have a choice," I replied, nodding toward him. He was swaying slightly as he eyes the rabbit meat in his hands with a hint of nausea. "He can barely hold himself up, let alone fight us all off at once."

"You want me to force him to take it?" Lucy looked at me in shock.

"Would you rather he expired halfway through the desert?" I challenged.

Lucy shook her head and the nodded in resolution.

"Let's get him," she grinned. She took the little bottle from her belt and clenched her hand around it and then walked slowly around to the other side of the fire and sat next to her brother. Edmund didn't even look up. I whispered to Jinni to help me hold him down and she and I casually stood and walked over to the siblings.

"Why is everyone…?" Edmund started to ask in suspicion. He never finished his question because Jinni and I both grabbed a shoulder and pushed him onto his back as Lucy put a knee to his chest and popped the stopper out of her bottle. She very carefully tipped it.

"Edmund, you are going to take this if I have to pour the whole thing down your throat!" Lucy warned as Edmund pressed his lips together defiantly.

I got a rather awful idea and dug my fingers into one of his wounds from the whips. It worked. He let out a loud cry and Lucy took the opportunity to let a droplet fall between his lips.

We immediately jumped aside as his strength came back. He looked terrifyingly angry as he glared at each of us.

"Lucy, I told you not to waste that!" he snapped.

"I wasn't wasting it, Edmund!" Lucy raised her chin slightly, defiance oozing from her tone. "Najida said you wouldn't have made it across the desert in your condition. I will not lose my brother because of his stubbornness."

Jinni and I stood nervously off to the side, waiting for Edmund's wrath to turn on us.

However, he just sighed heavily and seemed to deflate.

"Well," he mumbled, "I DO feel ten times better."

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We settled down for the night and just before I fell into sleep I heard Lucy and Edmund's hushed voices in the darkness. They were talking about someone named Aslan and, as I listened, a peace began to flood my mind. I drifted into dreams of green hills and talking lions.

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**Decided to write a chapter because ABCFamily is being STUPID and isn't playing Whose Line Is It Anyway? Tonight! If this change in program is permanent…I may lose my sanity.**

**Anyway, I'm back! This chapter is just a transition so I apologize if it's a bit rough.**


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